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Report looks at impact of HIT on quality


Advertise for as little as $25! TMA’s website experiences nearly 320,000 visitor sessions each month. With this kind of activity, can you afford not to advertise in TMA’s online classifieds? Place and purchase your classified ad now at http://classifieds.texmed.org.


Using health information technology (HIT) can help improve health care out- comes and quality, according to a recent study by the Agency for Healthcare Re- search and Quality (AHRQ). The report, Findings and Lessons From


the Improving Management of Individuals With Complex Health Care Needs Through the Health IT Grant Initiative, looked at using HIT to improve the coordination and quality of services for patients with complex health conditions, including


54 TEXAS MEDICINE January 2014


mendation to the Texas Legislature for advancing the state’s version of health care reform passed in 2011. Gov. Rick Perry appointed the institute members in 2012 to “improve health care quality, accountability, education, and cost con- tainment in this state.” Choosing Wisely dovetails with one


of the key values the institute is charged with upholding, which is making sure state quality initiatives are evidence- based, says Wichita Falls pathologist Su- san M. Strate, MD. She is vice speaker of the TMA House of Delegates and a former member of the TMA Council on Health Care Quality. She also serves on the institute’s board of directors. “An important aspect of Choosing


Wisely is the fact that it’s been vetted and developed by physicians, and such a program is a very good thing for the institute to consider,” she said. In addi- tion, the institute workgroup studying this program is focusing on best prac- tices and patient engagement as two of its main charges, also important aspects of Choosing Wisely.


It may not be a formal value-based


care program, Dr. Strate says. But it can help get doctors and patients ahead of the game. “This is about beginning a culture change and helping physicians and patients discuss the value of various health care services when making health care decisions.”


during transitions of care. The grant initiative is part of AHRQ’s Ambulatory Safety and Quality program. Researchers documented the findings


of more than 10 projects that investigat- ed how HIT applications can help:


• Engage patients and their families in managing chronic conditions;


• Help clinicians, patients, and families access relevant information during transitions between ambulatory care settings and other settings such as hospitals, home care, assisted living centers, and nursing homes;


• Support shared decisionmaking and collaboration between patients and clinicians, and the delivery of clinical services through secure messaging or electronic visits; and


• Manage team roles, team-based care, and workflows within a practice and across settings.


The experiments showed positive impacts in a number of areas including clinician acceptance and use of HIT, im- provement in the flow of information when patients transition from one cli- nician to another, high levels of patient engagement in their own care, and re- ported reductions in hospital or emer- gency department use. The projects were conducted in various ambulatory care settings, including primary care and specialty care clinics. “These projects demonstrated the potential of EHRs [electronic health records] and PHRs [personal health records] to effectively move evidence- based information to the point of care,” researchers wrote. They also highlighted several barriers to HIT use, chiefly dif- ficulties integrating the technology into existing clinical data systems. Read the full report online at http://1 .usa.gov/18o2gbW. n


Amy Lynn Sorrel is an associate editor of Texas Medicine. You can reach her by telephone at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1392, or (512) 370-1392; by fax at (512) 370-1629; or by email at amy.sorrel@texmed.org.


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